Basketball teams hit holiday tournaments

Dec. 29, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

The Colony girls' basketball squad scored a win in the first round of the Cactus Jam Hoop Classic in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday.

The Knights handed Blaine (Wash.) a 48-41 win in the holiday tournament.

&#8220We could have won it by a lot more, had we not missed a lot of easy shots under the basket,” Colony head coach Don Witzel said by phone after the game. &#8220We felt like we could have won by 20.”

Witzel said the Knights played even with the Washington high school program during the first quarter, but was able to lead by as much as 12 by the break.

In the second half, Blaine narrowed the gap and trailed by only three points at one moment.

Witzel said the Knights opted to switch defenses in the third quarter. Colony started in the man-to-man, and went to a zone. The Knights gave up some easy baskets while playing in the zone, he said, and opted to switch back to the man-to-man.

Junior Hayley Hotchkiss led Colony with 14 points. Alex Coon added 12, while Tara Garrod and Maria Bowker each chipped in six.

The Knights are now scheduled to play Lafayette (Ken.) today at 10:45 a.m. AST in Tempe.

The Cactus Jam is separated into two divisions, the Tempe division and the Phoenix division.

On Saturday, the Knights will play one of the three teams from the Phoenix division. Colony's opponent will be determined after Thursday's games.

Teams from Cerritos, Calif., Eastlake, Wash., and Fieldston, N.Y., make up the Phoenix division.

Colony boys drop two

The Colony boys' basketball squad suffered a pair of losses in the first two days of the Cactus Jam Hoop Classic.

On Wednesday, Issaquah (Wash.) used a 25-14 run in the second quarter to score a 62-44 win over Colony.

Colony led 22-20 at the half.

Junior Grant Niver led the Knights with 12 points. Ryan Coffman added seven.

Colony also dropped a game in the

consolation semifinals. Results were unavailable.

Colony is now scheduled to play in the seventh-place game on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. AST.

Palmer girls lose in Juneau

The Palmer girls' suffered a 67-33 loss to Troy High School, of Fullerton, Calif., in the first round of the Capital City Classic at Juneau-Douglas High School on Wednesday.

Troy led by just one point at the end of the first quarter, but used an 18-5 run in the second to build a 29-15 halftime lead.

Amy Tzou led the Moose with eight points. Kelsey Campbell added five.

The Moose played the host Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears on Thursday. Results were unavailable prior to press time.

Houston looks strong in losses

Despite being credited with a pair of losses, the Houston boys' basketball squad enjoyed strong performances during the first two rounds of the KSA Holiday Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Beachwood (Ohio) needed success at the free throw line late in the game to secure a 60-49 win over the Hawks in the first round. Philip Lesenkoff scored a team-high 13 points against the Cleveland-area school.

In the consolation semifinals, Mount Pisgah (Ga.) edged Houston 48-45.

Donovan Parker and Quentin Veit each scored eight points for Houston.

The Hawks are scheduled to play in the bracket's seventh-place game, on Saturday at 4:15 a.m. AST.

The Wasilla girls' squad is also participating in the KSA Holiday Classic.

The Warriors suffered a 57-43 loss to Tennessee High School.

Warrior boys win

one in Florida

The Wasilla boys' finished 1-2 in the Rock Holiday Classic in Coconut Creek, Fla., last week.

The Warriors opened with a 48-45 win over North Broward Prep, the host team of the

event.

Senior Jesse Bean led the Warriors with a game-high 18 points. The future UAF Nanook hit four shots from beyond the arc.

Forward Logan Williams added 13 points.

Sagemont High School, of Weston, Fla., defeated Wasilla 61-58 in the semifinals of the tourney.

Bean scored 22 points in the loss. Dexter Pierce added

12 points.

Sagemont was 11-0 entering the game.

In their final game of the tourney, Wasilla suffered a 72-53 loss to the Florida Air Academy.

Pierce scored a team-high 18 points.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.